Stupid Ranma...
by Flaire Murasawa
Summary: What did Ranma do to make Akane so upset? (Don't worry, there's more to the story than that!)


Disclaimer: The characters of Ranma ½ do not belong to me. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Video (I think) and whoever else that I forgot to mention (this does not mean you!)  
  
Alert: This is my first fanfic on this site, my first fanfic in this genre, and my first fanfic without using any of my own characters. Whoever is merciless enough to flame me will be tracked down and "flamed" (literally) by a Pokemon that I own named Starr, and believe me, I'm not afraid to use her. Oh, and I'm not good at describing or explaining.  
  
STUPID RANMA.  
  
  
  
Stupid Ranma.  
  
He did it. he actually did it.  
  
Akane sniffed in her shadowy corner.  
  
It had been two weeks since Ranma's father had decided to go on another training trip, deciding that Ranma, who had been dating Akane, still wasn't manly enough for his mother. It was America this time.  
  
Akane and Ranma had finally given into their parents' wishes and started going out about a month before. It had started as an act because of the constant nagging from Soun and Genma, teasing from their classmates, and being constantly pursued by various martial artists between the ages of seven and seven hundred.  
  
Although it's original intention was as an act to get their fathers off their backs and get it through Ranma's various fiancees' heads that Ranma didn't love them. All it did was get Soun and Genma away, though. The various sixteen-year-old girls that Ranma was engaged to didn't let up on their assaults. Some, like Shampoo and Kodachi, only attacked and glomped harder that ever, popping up more often with more crazy schemes than usual. Others, like Ukyo, just kept coming at the normal rate. well, "normal" as in what they had gotten used to. It actually resulted in the same amount of trouble, but Akane had to admit. dating Ranma wasn't so bad.  
  
Stupid Ranma. it seemed like he saw it at times, other times it seemed like he didn't. Usually a predictable character, he had Akane totally flustered this time. It was supposed to be an act after all. At times, it seemed like it wasn't, though. They ran away for private moments, gave little gifts that no one else knew about - or, once everybody did know about, were giggled and sighed over as being "cute!" or "so romantic!" They did everything that a couple should do. except that they weren't really a couple, now, were they?  
  
Stupid Ranma. when they hid for "private couple moments", they actually just ate a snack or asked about homework. The "gifts" were cheap trinkets that were either already owned but fancied up to look different, or bought by both the "giver" and "receiver," then worked on to look nicer. But there was that one time when Ranma gave Akane the little doll.  
  
It was a dime store item, really cheap but really cute. Akane hadn't expected something like that. It seemed to be made out of porcelain, and seemed to be hand-painted with seemingly-hand-sewed clothes. Ranma said he bought something else at that store, but when he opened it when he got to the dojo, he found out that he had the wrong package. He went back to the store, and had a big fight about a refund of ten cents. Stupid Ranma. fighting over something so trivial. The item that Ranma had wanted was sold out anyway, and he gave the doll to Akane, saying that he sure didn't want it.  
  
The doll now sat on Akane's desk. The way home had been so perilous with that doll. They ran into several people on the way, like Kodachi, saying that the doll was hers; Cologne, telling Ranma to give the doll to Shampoo; Kuno, burying Akane in a mountain of large, expensive dolls before trying to break the doll that Ranma had bought; not to mention the numerous others, mostly consisting of the "regular" crowd.  
  
Stupid Ranma. Akane glared at the doll, and gripped her pen in her hand. She stared hard at it, muscles tensing to destroy the doll that reminded her so much about her fiancée. but the power of her grip exploded the pen into tiny, plastic-and-lead shards before Akane had a chance to throw it. Akane let out an inhuman growl and threw herself at the doll.  
  
"Akane?"  
  
Akane froze.  
  
"Akane, are you alright?"  
  
It was Kasumi, standing in the doorway to her room.  
  
"Yes, yes, I'm fine, Kasumi," Akane said, quickly pulling her hands away from the faux-porcelain doll. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"Oh, no reason," said Kasumi, softly. "You look. harried, that's all."  
  
"Harried? Me?" Akane laughed. "What gives you that idea?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know," said Kasumi. "Oh! Nabiki said to tell you not to forget about tonight. What does she mean by that?"  
  
"Nothing," said Akane. "Thanks for telling me."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
Akane breathed a sigh of relief once she heard Kasumi head down the stairs. Then she turned back towards the doll. Her hands reached out, wanting to break it into the pieces that her pen was in. the pieces that her heart was in.  
  
Akane stopped.  
  
She had eventually come to love the time that she spent with Ranma, still giving him the usual mallet whacks, but as she stayed around him more often, the more the love that she had in her heart for him blossomed - and grew. They were pretending to be dating, but Akane was starting to doubt whether or not it was as fake as she and him had wanted it to be. But then Genma stepped in.  
  
"You're getting slower, boy," he had said after getting hot water poured on him to reverse the effects of a losing battle against Ranma.  
  
"Whaddya mean, Pops?" Ranma had asked, offhandedly, getting his hot- water treatment on the other side of the room. "I can still beat you."  
  
"The point is not beating me, it is about beating your opponents," Genma said. "You are slacking off of your martial arts training. Keep doing that, and you will soon be losing to your own fiancées!"  
  
"Well, come to think of it, there are a lot more people in town that are stronger than you," Ranma said.  
  
Genma facevaulted. Then he got back up and started yelling, "Look here, boy! I told you mother that I would make you a man among men! And you're a girl!"  
  
"Half-girl," Ranma corrected, then started mouthing along with the rest of Genma's "If your mother finds out she'll have us commit suicide" speech. Luckily, his father hadn't been looking. In fact, he was looking at the wall. Living with Soun and having Ranma "date" Akane was getting him a tad bit over-emotional. So Ranma, Akane, and other Tendo sisters had managed to sneak out of the room before Genma finished his speech.  
  
Genma had spewed fire at Ranma later for having walked out on his speech, but the announcement of "Dinner!" had Genma forgetting was he was about to say and racing to beat his son to the dinner table.  
  
After the meal, Akane and Ranma had routinely pulled away to the back of the house, at the edge of the koi pond.  
  
"Akane." Ranma had said.  
  
Akane looked at him, wondering what he was going to say. This wasn't his usual "chit-chat" voice or "yeah, just try and beat me" voice. It wasn't even his "ha-ha, you catch me!" voice. It was his "I have something to say and I'm gonna have a hard time saying it" voice. Akane had one hand already gripping her mallet, because each time this kind of voice talked to Akane, it brought on the same result.  
  
"What Pops said earlier today. I'm not up to my usual form anymore. I'm not training as much, and I think the reason why is because I keep hanging around you." Ranma looked incredibly uncomfortable.  
  
"Wha- what do you mean, Ranma?" she asked. She had a feeling about what was going to come next.  
  
"Let's pretend to break up."  
  
"What?!"  
  
Akane lost her grip on her mallet. It crashed to the ground, leaving a dent in the green grass.  
  
Ranma eyed the wooden hammer for a second, before deciding it was safe enough to continue. "This pretending-to-go-out thing is cutting in on my training time. It's getting a little harder to beat everybody. If I don't get back in top form soon, someone might. I dunno, use me as a pin cushion or somethin'."  
  
Akane couldn't believe what she was hearing. Actually, she wasn't hearing anything at all as Ranma went on. Pretend to break up. pretend to go out. Ranma never felt anything? He never felt anything? Nothing at all?  
  
No, Akane wasn't hearing anything at all. But she was seeing. She was seeing red.  
  
Her hand trembled as she reached down to pick her mallet back up.  
  
"I mean, we're like siblings now and all - Akane, what are you doing?" He had noticed the mallet.  
  
Akane's bangs threw a shadow over her eyes as she went through the familiar movements and sayings.  
  
"Ranma. no.BAKA!"  
  
WHAM!  
  
Akane turned to go back into the house, this time not bothering to watch the braided-boy soar through the atmosphere.  
  
Now, Akane gently held the doll she had previously wanted to destroy. She couldn't ruin the last tangible reminder of what they had. what they pretended to have. what she had.  
  
Stupid Ranma. two weeks ago, Genma had proposed a training trip to the ever-weakening Ranma. He was still more powerful than everyone else in Nerima, but if he was getting worse, he was getting worse. And that was that. They packed up their bags and headed off to America for a training trip half a world away, for as long as the trip to China had been. He hadn't even expressed regret for Akane's sake. Didn't hesitate. He just went.  
  
Stupid Ranma. the trip to China had taken years.  
  
Stupid Ranma. Akane ran away from the good-byes, but when she came back, she found out that Ranma hadn't waited for her.  
  
Stupid Ranma. couldn't miss the boat they were going to take because of two certain things known as Ranko and Mr. Panda.  
  
Stupid Ranma. Akane wasn't desperate enough to leave for America also, though. She had school, and a life without Ranma to worry about, anyway.  
  
A life without Ranma.  
  
Who knew? Maybe in the years between Ranma leaving and Ranma coming back, Akane would have a new boyfriend, Ranma a new fiancée -  
  
Boyfriend.  
  
Had Ranma really been her boyfriend? In a way, yes. But only in a way. Not all the way.  
  
Stupid Ranma. maybe Akane didn't want to fall in love with someone else, did he ever think of that? No, he always thought about himself.  
  
Or did he?  
  
The next day, Kasumi brought in the mail to a once-again brooding Akane. This time, Akane heard her coming and closed and locked the door.  
  
Kasumi knocked. No answer. She knocked again. She tried the knob.  
  
"Akane, there's a package for you," she said, and placed it on the floor outside the brown barrier that separated them.  
  
Kasumi went back down the stairs.  
  
After Akane was certain that her sister was in the kitchen and staying there, she opened the door and brought in the mail. There were a few letters for her, one from a pen pal, one from a random admirer. et cetera. Then came the package. It was actually a small cardboard box. Very small. The stamp was from. she squinted at the obviously water- blotted marking.  
  
Colorado, USA?!  
  
Akane tore open the package to reveal a midnight-blue jewelry box. Her heartbeat started to quicken, and she forced herself to take a couple slow, deep breaths before opening the box.  
  
It was a simple necklace. A gold sun centered with a deep blue crystal, hanging off a gold chain.  
  
At a loss for a decent reaction, she slowly lifted the necklace from its resting place, looking at it as though it might disappear any second. But when she looked at herself and the necklace in the mirror and clasped it around her neck, she knew it was real. The cold, yet gradually warming feeling coming from the cool metal was enough for her.  
  
She felt like going to outside. She didn't know how she ended up walking to the Nerima Bay docks, but the sea air was refreshing, the smell of salt for once not from her own tears. Her eyes began to fill, though. This was where Ranma had left from. and they didn't say good-bye.  
  
"Aiya!"  
  
Akane turned her head at the familiar, high-pitched cry. A young, purple-haired girl had apparently dropped her bags on the pier.  
  
"Shampoo!" Akane jogged over to where the Chinese Amazon was picking up bags. She heard a raspy voice, and turned to see Cologne calling from a boat.  
  
Akane reached for a bag, and handed it to her one-time rival.  
  
"Shya shya," said Shampoo, then she looked up.  
  
"Akane!" she said in surprise.  
  
"Shampoo, what are you doing here?" Akane asked as both girls straightened.  
  
The girl in the Chinese clothes turned her head to see if Cologne was looking. The old woman had already gone back inside of the boat.  
  
"Shampoo and Great-Grandmother go to see Ranma in America!" Shampoo said, cheerfully. "After all, who cook him good food like fiancée?"  
  
"Me!"  
  
Purple and black-haired heads turned to see another familiar face.  
  
"Ohohohohohoho!" Kodachi cackled, putting down the ton of bags she was holding. "I'll go to America and find Ranma myself before any of you little people can. Then we'll get married, so I just might send you an invitation."  
  
"In your dream!" Shampoo retorted. "Shampoo find Ranma and marry, and you will no get invitation! You only get notice letter!"  
  
Akane watched as the two bickered, surprisingly ending with Kodachi picking up her bags and leaving in a huff.  
  
"Oh, Akane," said Shampoo as the Japanese girl started to leave, also.  
  
Akane turned back to have something thrown at her face. She quickly caught it, and looked down at the little piece of paper.  
  
"A boat ticket to America?" Akane looked up in surprise.  
  
"Well," said Shampoo. "Grandmother buy three ticket, one for Grandmother, one for Shampoo, one for Mousse. We no can find Mousse for four day. Boat leave in threee hour. You take ticket, fair battle for Ranma."  
  
All Akane could do was sputter as Shampoo gave her a superior "rival" smile, and got on the boat.  
  
Shampoo nearly crashed into Kodachi, who was exiting.  
  
"Aiya! Crazy girl take same boat as Shampoo?!"  
  
"Hey, pipe down! The less I hear of your annoying voice the better."  
  
As Kodachi jumped down from the boat, Akane called, "Kodachi, how come you're putting your bags on the boat three hours early?"  
  
The Black Rose didn't bat an eyelash. "Because I have a lot more bags following those!"  
  
She took off, leaving behind a trail of maniacal laughter.  
  
"And crazy girl complain 'bout my voice!"  
  
Akane turned back to Shampoo, who looked ready to kill Kodachi at any chance she had while they were on the same boat together. She was also muttering something in Chinese that Akane had no intention of translating.  
  
"Shampoo, how come you're getting on the boat so early?"  
  
The Amazon stopped her imaginary attack on Kodachi.  
  
"What?"  
  
Akane repeated her question, and Shampoo thought for a second.  
  
"Me don't know why Grandmama want come before boat leave. Maybe so Mousse no can find us. You go use that ticket, before crazy girl luggage fill up whole boat."  
  
"O-okay, Shampoo."  
  
Akane turned away, not hearing Shampoo muttering about her stupid curse that was the reason they had to go on a boat in the first place. Akane still couldn't believe the situation. Shampoo had just given her a boat ticket for America. Akane couldn't go.  
  
She found herself running through the streets of Nerima. It was Saturday, so she didn't have to worry about being late for school as she made her way to Ucchan's.  
  
"Ukyo!"  
  
Akane burst into the restaurant.  
  
The brown-haired girl looked up from two okonmiyakis that she had been cooking.  
  
"What is it, Akane?" she asked, quizzically. Ranma was out of town, so why was Akane looking like that?"  
  
"I got a boat ticket for America, to where Ranma is," Akane said, breathlessly.  
  
Ukyo looked at the other girl. "And.?"  
  
"And. do you want it?" asked Akane.  
  
Ukyo shook her head. Akane's jaw dropped. Now there was a surprise. With all of Ranma's other fiancées going, she figured Ukyou would want a chance, too. She couldn't believe it.  
  
"Oh, you already have a ticket?" Akane said.  
  
"Uh-uh," said Ukyo, a bit sadly. "I'm staying here, in Nerima."  
  
Akane really couldn't believe what she was hearing.  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"I got a restaurant to run, honey," the chef said. "I have a nice, settled life in Nerima, and I'm not moving all the way to another country just to nag my former best friend."  
  
Luckily for Akane, there was a chair behind her, and she dropped right into it.  
  
"Don't get me wrong, I thought that I would do more for Ranma too.," Ukyo said, a little wistfully. "I guess not. Besides, you're half of the happy couple, why aren't you going?"  
  
"You mean you're just going to stay here, and wait for him for who- knows-how-many years?" Akane asked back, ignoring the question directed at her. "I thought that you loved him, and all the people that love him are getting on a boat right now."  
  
"Oh, I love him, all right," Ukyo retorted, taking the statement as a slight insult. "I. just have a life to live. Plus, I waited for him when he went to China, I'll wait for him again. But there's gonna be difference. I'm going to send letters and packages to him!"  
  
It was Akane's turn to blink the other girl. "You know the type of places he stays when he's on these training trips. I don't think you're going to find mailboxes anywhere near where he'll be."  
  
"Aha! You're right!" exclaimed Ukyo, who was looking unusually joyful considering the situation. "That's why I have my very own. homing pigeon!"  
  
She proudly whisked out a bird from behind her back.  
  
Akane was double-lucky because she would have fallen into the chair that she was already sitting in.  
  
"But. but." she sputtered, "that's a duck!"  
  
Sitting in Ukyo's hands was no other than the glasses-wearing, dead- meat-without-them Moo-Moo the Duck. Or Mousse for short.  
  
"Yeah, but I trained him to find anything, and he's very strong for a duck. I was going to cook him, but this idea to use him as a homing duck popped up instead. He can fly to America, find Ranma, and come back again, no problem. And it's all thanks to these little homing gadgets that one of Nabiki's friends sold to me."  
  
This time, sitting in the chair already didn't do any good, and Akane facevaulted off of it.  
  
"One of my sister's friends?!"  
  
"Yeah," said Ukyo, looking triumphant. "She was a novice dealer, and I out-dealed her and got them for one-fourth the price Nabiki would have sold it to me."  
  
No wonder she was so mad, Akane thought, remembering a few days ago when Nabiki had stormed into the house and went straight into her room, not coming out until the next day. The phone line had been tied up for a good deal of the time Nabiki had spent in her room. Probably for the money her group had lost, and to kick the poor girl out.  
  
"Anyway," Ukyo continued, "you don't have to worry about me. Oh, hello, come on in," the long-haired girl smiled brightly as a small group of people wandered in.  
  
While Ukyo was taking and preparing their orders, Akane left.  
  
She had started out walking aimlessly, but couldn't seem to help winding up either at her house or the dock. Finally, after finding herself at home for a third time, she walked up the stairs and closed the door to her room.  
  
The boat's leaving in one hour, she thought. Nerima was going to be a lot quieter with those three-to-five people gone. Kuno's advances weren't going to get any better, though.  
  
She remembered Ukyo's words.  
  
I'm half of the happy couple, why is it that I'm not going? she asked silently to herself.  
  
Because the couple was fake. An act. Just to make their lives a bit more peaceful. But instead, Akane had really fallen in love. Her mind rewound even further to when Ranma had unintentionally but brutally reminded her that they weren't really going out.  
  
Then again. he never said that he didn't love her.  
  
Akane decided to go walking again. this time with luggage.  
  
The next day.  
  
Akane let the sea breeze blow her hair around her face. She waved at the flying duck overhead and listened to the sounds of Shampoo and Kodachi duking it out. In few more days, the ship would pull into New York, where she could tell her father where she was a have him send some money over to her.  
  
The sunlight flickered off the emerald of the intricate necklace dangling from her throat, and glanced off the doll that she had in her hand.  
  
When she got there, her pervert fiancée was going to get the beating of his life. Akane smiled.  
  
Come to think of it, she didn't speak a word of English.  
  
  
  
Oh sheesh, I've been shaking the whole time I've been writing this. The shaking slowed me down and it took me over three hours to type this. Please no flames, because this took forever and my "dear friend" Akane-chan 2 is putting pressure on me. Please give me tips on how to make my writing style better.  
  
- P-Chan 2 


End file.
